Official Rules and Regulations

NO PLAGIARISM
ORIGINAL CONTENT ONLY

Contestants in the modeling category are encouraged to thoroughly read through the following rules and regulations before beginning the war. Final submissions that do not include all of the required assets will immediately be disqualified.

Contestants MUST showcase the progression of their entries on a weekly basis. Violating entries will be disqualified.

CONCEPTS

All models and assets must be created in Max, Maya, ZBrush, Crazybump, or Mudbox. Contestants in the modeling category are to take entries from concept to creation. Concepts for all entries must be original and created by the participant – outsourcing is not allowed. Submissions of the concepts MUST include a back story for all characters and their accompanying artifacts. These need not be elaborate unless so desired by the individual. Participants are encouraged to create model sheets and colored concepts to facilitate the process.

MODELS

Contestants are to create a character with an artifact, such as a prop or a weapon. Vehicles may be artifacts, but they cannot be main characters. In other words, the artifact must be a supporting asset to the character. Participants must create a base mesh, high poly, and low poly model of the character and artifact. The low poly model, including character and artifact, may not exceed 7,000 tris. To ensure a fair contest, however, low poly models must be a minimum of 2,000 tris (with artifact). Two-sided polygons are allowed.

MAPS

Low poly characters and artifacts must be unwrapped and textured. Final submissions must include 1024 x 1024 maps. Map sizes may only be reduced for forum presentation. Ambient occlusion maps, normal maps, diffuse maps, and specular color maps are required. If your character and/or artifact consists of any alphas, include your opacity map with the final submission. Participants may use extra maps if desired.

FINAL RENDERS

Final entries must include proper model sheets, displaying characters and assets from the top, bottom, front, back, profile, and three-quarter views (all to be shown with and without wires). Submissions must also include ONE final beauty render, created in 3D Studio Max, Unreal Engine, or Xnormal, with standard lighting only* (omnis, target spots, etc.). No plug-ins, such as Mental Ray, are to be used. However, “beauty renders” are an integral part of the presentation and are encouraged to be taken seriously.

Beauty renders may include a pedestal (stand) for characters, if desired. Pedestals are not to be included within the final poly count limitation of 7,000 tris. Participants may also pose their characters, though it is not a requirement for the final submission. Photoshop composites are allowed to set a backdrop scene for the final render. However, all backdrops used MUST be original and created by the contestant. Copyright infringement is strictly enforced, and violating entries will be disqualified.

*Three-point lighting setups are a simple, yet effective method to achieve a final composition with standard lighting. For a tutorial on how to set up your scene for a final render, visit the following link: http://www.3drender.com/light/3point.html

FINAL SUBMISSIONS

This is a summarized list of what will be required for each individual submission. For clarification, please read the above specifications. If you should have any questions regarding the rules, please contact Sam at mrmasri@artlover.com.

Each final submission must be created by ONE individual and must include the following:

Character and artifact concept
Back story
Base mesh (character and artifact)
High poly model (character and artifact)
Low poly model (character and artifact) – 7,000 tris maximum / 2,000 tris minimum
1024 x 1024 maps, including ambient occlusion, normal, diffuse, and specular color maps (extra maps are optional; include opacity map if used)
Model sheets of base mesh, high poly, and low poly characters and artifacts (with and without wires)
One final beauty render (standard lighting ONLY – must be done in Max, UR, or Xnormal)